On 25 March 2025, we organised the launch event for Culture for Good (original title in Romania: Cultura Face Bine) in Bucharest — a community of people from the business world and the cultural sector, aiming to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between the two spheres. The initiative also seeks to establish the Culture for Good Fund, financed through support memberships and private donations, to support grassroots artists and cultural organisations across the country.
The event was hosted at Banca Transilvania’s Stup Agency and opened with a lively debate on the role of culture today, moderated by Ștefan Teișanu, Director of the Cluj Cultural Centre. His guests included Gilda Lazăr, Communications Director of the George Enescu International Festival; poet and playwright Matei Vișniec; Liviu Jicman, President of the Romanian Cultural Institute; and Mircea Tomescu, Vice President of Marketing at eMAG.
The debate was followed by two hours of informal networking and open discussion among the 150 participants: 60 business representatives, 60 artists and cultural managers, 20 representatives from central and local authorities, and 10 members of the press.
Following the launch event in Bucharest, upcoming Culture for Good events will take place in the capital (at Romanian Design Week) and in Cluj-Napoca (during TIFF).
The Cluj Cultural Centre has also announced its willingness to host the technical secretariat needed to initiate collective projects, which will be selected by the companies and cultural operators affiliating with the Culture for Good community.
Among the first proposed initiatives are the mobilisation of the National Culture for Good Fund, aimed at supporting artists and cultural organisations across the country, as well as campaigns to promote the socio-economic impact of cultural projects in Romania.
Participants at the launch event were invited to fill out a short feedback and suggestion form to help shape the development of the project — available here.
Companies, cultural organisations, artists, journalists, and anyone interested in following or supporting the Culture for Good community are invited to contact us at hello@culturafacebine.ro or follow us on our website and social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Culture for Good is an initiative of the Cluj Cultural Centre, developed in partnership with Banca Transilvania and with the creative support of KOMITI.
In the context of the project “AWAKE: Arts & Wellbeing as a Creative Business and Future Livelihood,” we are happy to introduce the publication ‘Growing a Viable Entrepreneurial Model at the Intersection of the Arts and Wellbeing: Insights from Five Cases.’
The casebook presents five entrepreneurial initiatives led by professional artists, each supporting different groups—including infants, older adults, and individuals with chronic illnesses—through diverse artistic approaches. By examining how these ventures were developed, how they evolve, and their impact, the casebook provides insights into their unique journeys and future directions.
The event will feature discussions with the contributing artists and creative entrepreneurs, offering an opportunity to learn from their experiences and explore the role of arts in wellbeing-focused entrepreneurship.
About the casebook
This casebook is part of the AWAKE project that is co-funded by European Union Creative Europe programme, and is implemented by the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture – NDPC together with Lapinlahden Lähde (Centre for Culture, Arts and Mental Well-being), Centrul Cultural Clujean (Cluj Cultural Centre) and Pôle Culture & Santé en Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Culture & Health Center).
Acknowledgments
Project partners and authors of the casebook extend gratitude to everyone who contributed to the development of this casebook. A special thanks to the AWAKE project’s associated partners, practitioners, artists, healthcare professionals, and participants in the featured initiatives.
]]>Contemporar is preparing for the following exhibitions that will be open to the public from February 19 to March 14, 2025 – “La Bine and La Rău / Through Thick and Thin” (organized by MATCA artspace) and “Run Artist Run” (organized by Lateral ArtSpace).
The opening of the two exhibitions will take place on Wednesday, February 19 at 6:00 pm, and on Thursday, February 20, the public is invited to a public debate in relation to the two exhibitions on the theme of artist-run spaces, coordinated by the artists.
Dan Perjovschi, Cristina Curcan, Lucian Indrei, Alexandra Mocan will take part in the debate, moderated by Mihai Iepure-Górski.
Admission to all Contemporar events is free. Initiated by the Cluj Cultural Center and the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj, Contemporar is located in the premises of the Academic College of UBB Cluj/Auditorium Maximum, 5 Mihail Kogălniceanu Street, ground floor, Cluj-Napoca.
La Bine și La Rău / Through Thick and Thin
Organiser: MATCA artspace
Artists: Alina Andrei, Ana Avram, Sasha Bandi, Dan Beudean, Alexandru Mihai Budeș & Lisa Marie Schmitt, Vlad Brăteanu, Flaviu Cacoveanu, Oana Fărcaș, Camilia Filipov, Alexandra Mocan, MuLu, Alexandru Muraru, Cătălina Nistor, Mihai Teodorescu, Matei Toșa, Ziar
„La Bine și La Rău / Through Thick and Thin” is an exhibition that explores relationships, solidarity and resistance in artistic communities, reflecting both on our own role as an artist-run space and on the commitment of artists to maintain their work in difficult contexts.
Through this intervention in the Contemporar space, we seek to say something about the marginal way in which art is supported in Romania, a place where, in the absence of alternative structures such as artist-run spaces, or other independent collectives, there are not many institutions dedicated to contemporary art, and especially institutions that collaborate with young artists.
Through this exhibition and our work in general, we seek to reclaim the place and importance of artists who have something to say when it is still their time. A local contemporary arts center should look outward as well as inward, locating and encouraging the development of the arts by keeping a close eye on significant activities that lay the foundations for the development of the sector.
MATCA artspace is an independent artist-run space in Cluj-Napoca, reconfigured from a former leather workshop. Initiated in 2017 by Alexandra Mocan, Alexandru Muraru and Matei Toșa, the space was formulated to address the need for accessible platforms for local artists.
Run Artist Run
Organiser: Lateral ArtSpace
Artists: Dragoș Bădiță, Cristina Curcan (musz), Lucian Indrei.
The Run Artist Run exhibition aims to give visibility to the invisible work behind an artist-run initiative, the social involvement it entails and the human connections it nurtures. It is an opportunity to honor the myriad forms of an artist-run initiative and to identify the efforts behind it by showcasing archival elements specific to these cultural entities as well as by presenting works by artists Dragoș Bădiță, Cristina Curcan (musz), Lucian Indrei.
Lateral ArtSpace is an independent contemporary art platform initiated in April 2012, in Cluj-Napoca, as an experimental platform for young and emerging artists, with a focus on dialog between local and international artists.
Debate “On artist-run spaces: a subjective analysis of some recent initiatives”
Artist-run spaces and the people who run them face challenges such as financial instability, short lifespan and dependence on funding or personal investment coupled with a significant dose of self-exploitation and burnout.
Many of these initiatives appear to be unsustainable and operate in deeply precarious conditions, yet their impact on the local scene is undeniable, influencing both the institutional and commercial spheres.
Cristina Curcan, Lucian Indrei, Alexandra Mocan, Alexandra Mocan, Dan Perjovschi will discuss the topic on Thursday, February 20 at 6pm at Contemporar. The moderator will be Mihai Iepure-Górski.
Contemporar is a pilot space for research, dialog, knowledge and exhibition, dedicated to the contemporary art scene in Cluj, Romania and is open from Tuesday to Saturday between 15:00 – 19:00 at the UBB Academic College/Auditorium Maximum, 5 Mihail Kogălniceanu Street.
This part of the program is realized with the curatorial contribution of the Young Actions and Abstractions Association, and the space and the program are curated with the support of Mihai Pop, member of the Board of Directors of the Clujean Cultural Center and founder of Plan B Gallery.
Bilateral initiative implemented by the Project Management Unit of the Ministry of Culture, as RO-CULTURA Program Operator, in partnership with Arts and Culture Norway, as Program Partner, and funded with the support of EEA and Norwegian Grants 2014 -2021 through the National Bilateral Fund,
managed by the National Contact Point of the Ministry of Investment and European Projects.
The project’s objectives
- the development and presentation of a contemporary art program comprising 3 exhibitions and 3 public talks, between November 2024 and February 2025.
- stimulating bilateral collaboration and co-production, by involving one Romanian and one Norwegian artist in a one-week artistic residency.
- strengthening international cooperation through the participation of two cultural professionals from Romania and one from Norway in an exchange visit to Norway.
The total amount of funding is 621.946,21 lei, equivalent to 124.979,14 euro. Total amount of non reimbursable support from EEA and Norwegian Grants is 100%
The project runs from October 28, 2024 to February 28, 2025.
About EEA and Norway Grants
The EEA and Norway Grants are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway’s contribution to a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overarching objectives: to reduce economic and social disparities in Europe and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltic States. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. Between 1994 and 2014, donors provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes. For the period 2014-2021, EEA and Norwegian grants amount to €2.8 billion.
About the RO-CULTURA Program
RO-CULTURA Program is implemented by the Ministry of Culture through the Management Unit
Project Management Unit and its general objective is to strengthen economic and social development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The program budget is approximately 34 million euro. More details are available on www.ro-cultura.ro.
The CultureAndHealth Platform is a four-year transformative initiative designed to support over 200 European emerging artists working at the intersection of culture, health, care, education, and social sectors. By providing grants, mobility and networking opportunities, and visibility of their work, the initiative aims to highlight the vital role of culture in fostering health, well-being, and social innovation across Europe.
Key actions of the platform
- National Focal Points for culture and health: Artists will have a place to turn to for mentoring and peer support provided by the CultureAndHealth Platform members across the EU.
- Capacity Building, Training, and Knowledge Sharing: More than 60 live and online training sessions provided in multiple languages, complemented by 30 peer-learning workshops.
Grants and Mobility Opportunities: Over 170 artists will have access to financial support to carry out projects or engage in international learning mobility opportunities.
- Showcasing and Networking Events: Four international conferences held in Finland (29 September – 2 October 2025 TBC), Austria, Romania, and Belgium and many more onsite and online events and encounters will showcase innovative practices in bridging culture and health, and will foster connections across artists, health and care professionals, and other stakeholders.
- An online database of artists: The launch of a digital tool in 2027 to enable matchmaking between the health and cultural sectors.
Cluj Cultural Centre is the focal point of the CultureAndHealth Platform in Romania
Cluj Cultural Centre is the focal point of the CultureAndHealth Platform in Romania, organising between 2025 and 2028:
- Annual open calls leading to the funding of 3-5 culture and health initiatives taking place in Romania, supporting collaboration between emerging artists and health or community institutions.
- Training sessions for professionals interested in engaging in arts and health practices.
- Networking and knowledge-sharing activities, enabling the participation of emerging arts and health practitioners based in Romania in other actions of the Platform at EU level.
Actions to raise awareness on culture as a health behaviour and the importance of arts engagement for health and well-being.
Platform member organizations
Led by Culture Action Europe, the four-year project brings together cultural institutions, a health network, and local authorities committed to advancing the arts and health field. The Platform is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
- Cluj Cultural Center , Romania
- Culture Action Europe (coordinator), Belgium
- European Regional and Local Health Authorities ASBL EUREGHA , Belgium
- Arts for Health Austria , Austria
- Pôle Culture & Santé en Nouvelle-Aquitaine , France
- Stockholm Region, Competence Centre for Culture and Health , Sweden
- Cavan County Council Arts Office , Ireland
- HumaQ / Healing Culture Network , Germany
- Stichting Kunstloc Brabant , The Netherlands
- Asociacija Drustvo Nevladnih Organization In Posameznikov Na Podrocju Kulture , Slovenia
- Northern Dimension Partnership is Culture Secretariat NDPC , Latvia
- RED NOSES International , Austria
- Associazione Culturale Oltre aps , Italy
- ARC Research & Consultancy Ltd ., Malta
- Urban Culture Institute – City of Weaves, Poland
- Taikusydän – Arts & Health Coordination Centre in Finland & Turku University of Applied Sciences , Finland
Find more on the platform´s website: https://www.cultureandhealth.eu/
The CultureAndHealth Platform is co-funded by the European Union (grant nr: 101176227) . Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
We opened Contemporar in Cluj, a pilot space for research, dialog, knowledge and exhibition, dedicated to Romania’s contemporary art scene. The inauguration took place on January 22, 2025 with the vernissages of two exhibitions, “Ziua crește” and “Perspective din punctul zero”, coordinated by Aluvial and Plastic. Admission to all events and exhibitions is free.
Initiated by the Cluj Cultural Centre and the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, the space is a testing ground for the flagship project European Center for Contemporary Art (ECCA), one of the most ambitious legacy projects of the city’s bid for the title of Capital of Culture European Capital of Culture and a long-term commitment of the Cluj Cultural Centre.
Contemporar will operate in the premises of the Academic College of UBB Cluj/Auditorium Maximum, on 5 Mihail Kogălniceanu Street, ground floor, Cluj-Napoca.
Exploration space for the local art scene
“Cluj dreams of a European Center of Contemporary Art, and Contemporar takes us one step closer to realizing this goal: here the local art scene will be able to explore and imagine, in different formats, how such an institution could function in the future. Shortly, Contemporar benefits the local art scene and its public by simply the community a new exhibition space for contemporary art,” says the executive director of the Cluj Cultural Centre, Ștefan Teișanu.
Contemporar is conceived as a platform for the contemporary art scene; it will bring together its actors and reflect on its dynamics and functions as a flexible program that will experiment with different formats: exhibitions, debates, workshops, events, accompanied by a mediation component.
The first debate takes place on Thursday, January 23, from 17:00, and brings together The debate discusses the relationship between education and contemporary art.
“Contemporar is for UBB a key element in an ecosystem through which University facilitates the articulation between fields of knowledge, between research, science and artistic creation in an inclusive horizon of critical thinking and democratic values”, says Horea Poenar, UBB Vice Rector responsible for the socio-cultural component.
This program is coordinated, in rotation, by a curator invited by the Cluj Cultural Centre, who will work with local artists, involve key actors of the scene and activate themes and formats that gradually build both a discourse and a practice of future construction institutional. The first part of the program is realized with the curatorial contribution of Young Actions and Abstractions, and the space and program are curated with the support of Mihai Pop, member of the Board of Directors of the Clujean Cultural Center and founder of Plan B Gallery.
The objectives are:
- develop and present a contemporary art program comprising 3 exhibitions and 3 public talks, between November 2024 and February 2025.
- stimulating bilateral collaboration and co-production by involving an artist from Romania and one from Norway in a one-week artistic residency.
- strengthening international cooperation through the participation of two cultural professionals from Romania and one from Norway through an exchange visit to Norway.
The total amount of funding is 621.946,21 lei, equivalent to 124.979,14 euro.The total amount of grant support from EEA and Norwegian grants is 100%.
The project runs from October 28, 2024 to February 28, 2025.
About EEA and Norway Grants
EEA and Norway Grants are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway’s contribution to a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
There are two overall objectives: reducing disparities economic and social disparities in Europe and strengthening bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics.
The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. Between 1994 and 2014, donors provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes. For the period 2014-2021, EEA and Norwegian grants amount to €2.8 billion.
The RO-CULTURA Program
The RO-CULTURA Program is implemented by the Ministry of Culture through the Management Unit Project and has the general objective of strengthening economic and social development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The Program budget is approximately 34 million euro.
More details are available on www.ro-cultura.ro.
Studiotopia brings together artists and scientists in a 12-month residency program that focuses on global sustainability challenges.
Enter the Symbiocene with Arts and Science is the theme of this edition of Studiotopia, and the Cluj Cultural Center is a partner in promoting interdisciplinary collaborations to inspire innovative solutions for a sustainable future, alongside 10 other organizations. The Studiotopia residency program aims to encourage scientists to exchange ideas, knowledge, and methodologies with visual artists from around the world while visiting their studios.
Scientist Tibor Hartel, Associate Professor at Babeș-Bolyai University, will guide the creative process of the selected artist. Tibor’s expertise lies in population, community, and landscape ecology, as well as conservation biology. Over the last decade, he has increasingly expanded his areas of interest to include the human dimensions of conserving urban green systems and traditional land-use practices (wood pastures).
Ânia Pais, a Portuguese artist passionate about the role of green spaces in urban environments, will collaborate with Tibor Hartel starting this month.
“I consider my work a response or a testimony of a conversation with the land, with the space and time that welcome me. I am interested in space as the main influence, allowing the landscape to guide my exploration. I am intrigued by how space generates motivation and necessity in the body and spirit, and this sensitivity to the landscape plays a crucial role in my creative process.” declares Ânia.
The selection of the artist also involved Tibor Hartel, alongside Ciprian Mihali, a philosopher, Mihaela Ghiță, a journalist, and Alexandru Stermin, a biologist, who form the Local Challenge Committee (LCC).
We invite you to learn more about the Studiotopia residency program here:
A dynamic international consortium led by the Cluj Cultural Centre and joined by seven partners across Europe has officially launched the CARE – Culture for Mental Health project this month. This innovative initiative harnesses the transformative power of arts and cultural participation to improve mental health and well-being across Europe.
Addressing a Mental Health Crisis
With over 85 million EU citizens affected by mental health challenges, CARE responds to a pressing societal need by exploring and leveraging the untapped potential of culture and the arts to foster well-being. The project aims to offer structural and individual solutions, using cultural participation as a catalyst for health promotion, resilience, and social inclusion. This cross-sector collaboration involves artistic, health, educational, and business experts.
“Project CARE is more than just an initiative; it is a movement that aims to put culture at the center of integrated solutions for mental health and well-being. By uniting efforts across borders, we aim to cultivate healthier, happier, more connected and resilient communities.” said Rarița Zbranca, Program Director of the Cluj
A Collaborative Effort Across Borders
The CARE project is a collective endeavor of the following consortium partners:
Cluj Cultural Centre (Romania) – Project lead
European Festivals Association (Belgium)
Društvo Asociacija (Slovenia)
Culture Action Europe (Belgium)
Arts for Health Austria (Austria)
The consortium represents a broad spectrum of expertise and networks, ensuring a robust and inclusive approach to achieving the project’s goals.
Innovative Programs and Activities
CARE is designed to address critical challenges through three core activity pillars:
Learn: Offering capacity-building initiatives for arts and health professionals, including workshops, expert panels, and an Arts and Health Think Tank.
Innovate: Hosting social innovation labs focusing on youth mental health, workplace well-being, and accessibility for people with disabilities.
Share: Delivering CultureForHealth Mobile Hubs across six European cities – Brussels, Cluj, Ljubljana, Vienna, Riga, and Vilnius – to promote engagement, advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration.
“The CARE project is more than just an initiative; it’s a movement to place culture at the heart of integrated solutions for mental health and well-being. By uniting efforts across borders, we aim to foster healthier, happier, more connected, and resilient communities.” said Rarița Zbranca, Programme Director of the Cluj Cultural Centre.
Expected Impact
Operating across five countries, CARE will directly engage over 1,500 individuals in participatory art activities, train more than 600 professionals, and raise awareness among an estimated one million people. Through innovative policy recommendations, toolkits, and advocacy, the project aspires to leave a lasting legacy on health and cultural policies in Europe.
To celebrate the commencement of the CARE project, a launch event took place on November 25-26 in Vienna, Austria.
CARE – Culture for Mental Health is funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, and brings together expertise from across Europe to explore the intersection of arts, culture, and mental health for a healthier future. A budget totaling 1.4 million euros will be implemented over a period of 3 years, from November 2024 to December 2027.
Barbara Mair_AfHA
Encounters with nature shape our culture, education and artistic practices because we are part of nature. The 2024Cultural Mediation Forum reflected these connections and showed that nature mediation is an essential tool for promoting ecological awareness, sustainability and community-centered reconnection. Cultural mediation becomes, in this sense, a framework for communication and artistic interpretation of the living world of which we are part.
The sixth edition of the forum, organized by the Clujean Cultural Centre through the Academia of Change platform, took place on 29 and 30 October at the QUB Space in Cluj-Napoca and brought together over 100 cultural professionals: artists, teachers, researchers, educators and cultural mediation specialists. The central theme “We learn from nature” was reflected through a series of discussions and workshops that emphasized the vital link between art, science and education, such as:
- Appreciative approach to community and environmental activism: Ana-Maria Paladuș and Bogdan Gioară led a workshop in which participants explored perspectives on the positive motivations that drive people’s engagement for change in nature and community.
- Models of environmental education: Eva Stein shared experiences of Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s innovative environmental education programs that have had a positive impact on young people, highlighting how art can create a safe space for dialogue and exploration. Andreia Bruckner brought the perspective of the accessibility of cultural programs and the importance of programs dedicated to young visually impaired young people in relation to nature.
- Art and science as allies in mediation: Robertina Šebjanič presented projects highlighting the human impact on aquatic environments and demonstrated how artistic practices can bring complex scientific realities to the forefront and Mimi Ciora and Gavril Pop talked about their artistic projects dedicated to young people and the importance of creating the right context for interaction with young people around urban ecology themes.
- Environmental education for activating communities: Sabina Baciu showed how film and art events can stimulate dialog about the climate crisis and cultivate critical thinking among young people, while Alina Teodorescu and Alina Zară told about projects that are strongly rooted in the communities where they work and that meet with areas such as crafts or entrepreneurship.
- Good communication of technical data about nature in mediation: Tibor Hartel talked about the importance of good communication and specialized knowledge to have a real impact and Dana Peca illustrated by her own example the professional migration between research, education and civic action.
- Interdisciplinary approaches and sustainability: Marlene Herberth and Orsolya Gál shared their experiences on how crafts and the relationship with the natural environment can be integrated into artistic and educational practices to support sustainable living and cultural heritage preservation.
- Resources and learning contexts: Bianca Băilă talked about the Științescu Program, a fund dedicated to science communication programs in communities, Claudia Șerbănuță complemented with her perspective on the essential role of libraries as true community hubs, and the guided tour and workshop facilitated by Marius Mornea showed that augmented reality can support the exploration of lesser-known elements of biodiversity in places we think we know very well, such as parks
The program of the Cultural Mediation Forum was curated by Corina Bucea (Clujean Cultural Center / Academy of Change) and Raluca Iacob (cultural policy and management consultant), and participation was free of charge.
“For six editions we have been organizing the Cultural Mediation Forum as a space for meeting, learning and inspiration for those working at the intersection of art, culture and education. Each edition, however, opens surprising perspectives, revealing through the chosen theme new initiatives that make culture or science relevant and understandable to the public, but also affirming, step by step, this field of cultural mediation as a relevant and consistent one through so many diverse practices. “, said Corina Bucea, curator of the Cultural Mediation Forum.
“The Cultural Mediation Forum is every time an opportunity to reflect together on the solutions that mediators find to bring the public closer to art or cultural heritage. With this year’s theme, which put nature in the foreground as an object of mediation, we saw even more clearly that emotion and empathy, not just clear and accurate facts, are needed to communicate well and raise public awareness about environmental issues. People end up caring about things they can understand and that have personal meaning to them.” Raluca Iacob, curator of the Cultural Mediation Forum.
Launch of the Mediation+ Virtual Library, a resource for cultural professionals
A highlight of the Cultural Mediation Forum 2024 was the official launch of the Mediation+ Virtual Library, an innovative digital platform dedicated to supporting the ongoing training of cultural professionals. This library offers free access to a wide range of online and physical resources.
Irina Bălan, moderator of the forum with extensive experience in cultural management and communication, underlined the importance of librarians as cultural mediators: “In wanting to create a specialized library for cultural mediators, we started from a consultation with library representatives. We learned that librarians are true cultural mediators, highly involved and professional, and they do much more than lending books, building real communities around them. We want to learn from them how to organically grow such a community of practice.”
The project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, the Administration of the National Cultural Fund and the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Ministry of Culture or the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the project results can be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grantee.
In today’s fast-paced world, people everywhere face challenges like mental illness, loneliness, and isolation. Engaging with arts and culture can inspire and connect us, fostering resilience, confidence, well-being, and overall health.
The 2024 Culture and Well-being Forum, organised by Cluj Cultural Centre on 27-28 October, explored social prescribing as an opportunity to integrate culture, social, and health efforts to provide holistic approaches to individual and community health and resilience. Social prescribing is an innovative practice whereby doctors, social workers, psychologists, or educators can recommend participation in cultural activities to their patients/beneficiaries to improve their health and psycho-social conditions.
About 75 experts and specialists from public institutions, artists, cultural workers, psychologists, public health specialists, social workers, and doctors with a common interest in the area of intersection between culture, health, and social inclusion attended this edition of the forum.
A key focus of the forum was the presentation of findings from the study “The Opportunity for Developing and Implementing a Socio-Cultural Prescriptions Mechanism in Romania,” initiated by the Romanian Economic and Social Council. Building on this study, forum discussions centred on implementing such a system within Romania. Several models from Europe and across the world were showcased to understand the diversity of mechanisms and the way they respond to their local contexts of implementation, to lead the conversation deeper into Romania’s particularities, foreseen struggles and potential solutions.
Besides the panel discussions, the event included a dance and well-being workshop led by choreographer Cosmin Manolescu, and a performance, Cancer, choreographed, both exploring the link between artistic expression, health and well-being. The workshop was an invitation for participants to get familiar with movement and closeness, expanding or challenging their comfort zones with moments of touch, stillness, rhythm and breath. The performance, written by Cătălina Florescu and directed by Cosmin Manolescu, featured a chorus of dancers and testimonies from individuals who have experienced cancer. Intense and incredibly moving, the experience offered the audience an inside perspective on cancer’s impact on the bodies and minds of women.
The Culture and Well-Being Forum is an annual event organised by Cluj Cultural Centre since 2018, bringing together political decision-makers and culture and health professionals in Europe to discuss practices, opportunities for public policy, and joint action with the view to activating the power of the arts for health and well-being.
Photo credits: ©Roland Váczi
Cluj Cultural Centre announces the 15 artists selected in the Cluj in Residency program, designed to stimulate local artistic creation. The selected artists are:
Delia Gavlițchi * Lucian Rad * Alexandra Mereuți * Alexandra Mereuți * Lucia Ghegu * Andra Handaric * Olga Ștefan * Andrei Bobiș * Johanna Bertóti * Dániel Láng * Orsolya Gál * Géza Sipos * Cristina Curcan * Ștefan Ion Bolea Tit * Ana Cucu Popescu * Mihai Păcurar
Increasing the capacity of the arts sector
Cluj in Residency is designed to support contemporary artists from Cluj by providing opportunities for free expression. They will be able to work on themes that are already of interest to them and focus primarily on their artistic practice.
Artists support program
The total budget offered is 10.000 lei gross/ project for artists active in the fields of visual arts, digital and new media arts, music and sound arts, dance and performance, literature and theater. From the 80 applications, the jury chose 15 initiatives, appreciating the great interest in the program, the quality and diversity of the artistic approaches presented. The residency will take place for about 3 months to realize new concepts or artistic works, as well as to encourage the artists to connect with the Cluj public.
The programme is realized with the support of Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Cluj-Napoca City Council.
About the Academy of Change
The Academy of Change is a platform to support and increase the capacity of the cultural sector. The Academy’s agenda includes training and mentoring programs for artists, cultural managers and cultural organizations, cultural mediation programs, artistic residency programs, access to grants and resources for culture, cultural research and advocacy for the development of public policies in the field of culture.